Speaking of missing (it’s a tenuous link this, but bear with me) it’s been decades since the last sighting of musician Jeremy Spencer. One day in 1971 he told fellow members of Fleetwood Mac that he was popping out to a Los Angeles bookstore. On the way he met members of the Children of God cult and, according to legend, was never seen again.

Until last night, that is, when he turned up, in rude health, on a BBC 4 documentary about that other Fleetwood Mac casualty, Peter Green. (Actually, I say ‘that other’ casualty, but Fleetwood Mac’s body count is only slightly lower than the Somme’s.)

I was genuinely surprised to see him, having been under the impression that he was still AWOL. But, no, there he was with Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, and a happy trio they appeared to be. Where had he been all these years? Dunno. The programme never told us.

Then again, there probably wasn’t the time. You may be able to cram an overview of Ronald Reagan’s extraordinary life into 90 minutes, but you’d need a couple of weeks to cover the legend of Fleetwood Mac.

Best Slow Blues Songs
"How Blue Can You Get" BB King ( breathtaking guitar intro) PS Big Pink Lad, is that the Fleetwood Mac song that starts out "I'm crazy for my baby but my baby don't love me..."? Great song, I've been looking for a recording of it. vl ...http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?thr...00&messages=73

The show was sold out and there was a lot of love on stage. I totally biffed the words to Fleetwood Mac's 'Oh Well,' but, oh well. Had so much fun on stage I barely remember any of it. Had some drinks, had some sleep, in the morning had some blueberry pancakes, and threw a bunch of socks and party dresses into my suitcase and headed to the airport. First stop, Portland.http://www.spinner.com/2011/02/16/ni...wery-ballroom/

Speaking of missing (it’s a tenuous link this, but bear with me) it’s been decades since the last sighting of musician Jeremy Spencer. One day in 1971 he told fellow members of Fleetwood Mac that he was popping out to a Los Angeles bookstore. On the way he met members of the Children of God cult and, according to legend, was never seen again.

Until last night, that is, when he turned up, in rude health, on a BBC 4 documentary about that other Fleetwood Mac casualty, Peter Green. (Actually, I say ‘that other’ casualty, but Fleetwood Mac’s body count is only slightly lower than the Somme’s.)

I was genuinely surprised to see him, having been under the impression that he was still AWOL. But, no, there he was with Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, and a happy trio they appeared to be. Where had he been all these years? Dunno. The programme never told us.
Then again, there probably wasn’t the time. You may be able to cram an overview of Ronald Reagan’s extraordinary life into 90 minutes, but you’d need a couple of weeks to cover the legend of Fleetwood Mac.

Very interesting that he spotted this. I have read books about FM and watched numerous videos over the years, and I have been amazed at those speaking for me (or against me), the words put into my mouth and stories told, without a single request for an interview or comment from me from the authors or producers. That is partly why I agreed to this interview for 'Man of the World', as I am sick of having to refute such exaggerrations and worse to no avail. Although the programme was about PG (naturally) the interviewers did ask me a few questions about what happened with me and the following years, but none of it was used. On top of that, my observations on the deeper spiritual significance of Peter's demise was conveniently cut. Maybe it was getting too 'religious' for British TV.
'I might not give the answers that they want me too ... oh well.'

I am actually interested it both what happened to you and Peter. I was a 17 year old "Bluesman" (( I thought, anyway) growing up in Brooklyn. I became a fan of the band just as Peter left the group. I did not even know that. I first saw the band when you played at the Skating rink in central park on what was to be your last tour with the group. I loved the show but was aware that there were a lot of drunk people in the audience (more so than the usual pothead psychedelic crowd)
Later on that year I happened to be taking a subway train into the city and somehow struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger. For whatever reason I mentioned that I was a fan of the band that had just self destructed (I thought) I related that both you and peter went off to find god or something. The person responded that he was actually going to Manhattan to join up with the children of god and that you were with them and were going to be playing somewhere. Being a brooklynite, I got suspicious of who I was talking to and backed out of the conversation. I have read various things and stories of that time but there is nothing like first hand accounts to get closer to the "truth" If you could shed any light on you or peters thinking or what you or he said during that time at least I am interested. I also was really curious about the religious "musical" or something project you were supposed to be collaborating on. That would be during the "Tommy" and "U a Pop Pantomime" period.
with respect and admiration,

(RTTNews) - Fleetwood Mac burst onto the U.K. rock scene with the release of their self-titled debut on February 24, 1968.

At that time, the band was a straight-ahead blues act, with a significantly different lineup than the group that would later become one of the best-selling acts of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Long before the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who would become key songwriters during the band's "Rumours" period, their debut album featured a mix of blues covers and originals co-written by the fronting guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer. Green had teamed with drummer Mick Fleetwood in 1967 after splitting from the more established John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.

Green, Spencer and Fleetwood initially pushed hard to recruit Bluesbreakers bassist John McVie and even named the group Fleetwood Mac in an attempt to draw him in. It was only after the band made their debut at the Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival in August of 1967 that McVie agreed to join.

The debut effort, sometimes called the Dog and Dustbin album due to the picture on the cover, propelled Fleetwood Mac to nearly overnight stardom in the U.K. It reached number four on the U.K. chart, though it made little impact in the U.S. The band followed up with the release of two singles, "Black Magic Woman" and "Need Your Love So Bad."

I am actually interested it both what happened to you and Peter. I was a 17 year old "Bluesman" (( I thought, anyway) growing up in Brooklyn. I became a fan of the band just as Peter left the group. I did not even know that. I first saw the band when you played at the Skating rink in central park on what was to be your last tour with the group. I loved the show but was aware that there were a lot of drunk people in the audience (more so than the usual pothead psychedelic crowd)
Later on that year I happened to be taking a subway train into the city and somehow struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger. For whatever reason I mentioned that I was a fan of the band that had just self destructed (I thought) I related that both you and peter went off to find god or something. The person responded that he was actually going to Manhattan to join up with the children of god and that you were with them and were going to be playing somewhere. Being a brooklynite, I got suspicious of who I was talking to and backed out of the conversation. I have read various things and stories of that time but there is nothing like first hand accounts to get closer to the "truth" If you could shed any light on you or peters thinking or what you or he said during that time at least I am interested. I also was really curious about the religious "musical" or something project you were supposed to be collaborating on. That would be during the "Tommy" and "U a Pop Pantomime" period.
with respect and admiration,

vinnie c

Okay, Vinnie, I'll answer some of this the best I can at the moment.
Yes, I left to find God but realised that God had already 'found' me, (I was never lost in His mind all along, He just woke me up to that fact).
The incident you mentioned must have happened in 1972, as by that time I was living on the lower East side in one of our loft communes, and we did do a gig in Central Park. It was good.
A stupid question. Why would being a Brooklynite make you suspicious?
Anyway, yes, Peter and I had discussed doing something musically on Jesus' life. I merely mentioned it to Nick Logan, a New Musical Express reporter at the time and it made big news, for which I got a lot of flack from the rest of the band.
A year later, Andrew Lloyd Webber et al beat us to it!
Okay. Hope that suffices somewhat.
Thank you for your interest, Vinnie. Did you see my private message reply to your note?
Sincerely, Jeremy.

Okay, Vinnie, I'll answer some of this the best I can at the moment.
Yes, I left to find God but realised that God had already 'found' me, (I was never lost in His mind all along, He just woke me up to that fact).
The incident you mentioned must have happened in 1972, as by that time I was living on the lower East side in one of our loft communes, and we did do a gig in Central Park. It was good.
A stupid question. Why would being a Brooklynite make you suspicious?
Anyway, yes, Peter and I had discussed doing something musically on Jesus' life. I merely mentioned it to Nick Logan, a New Musical Express reporter at the time and it made big news, for which I got a lot of flack from the rest of the band.
A year later, Andrew Lloyd Webber et al beat us to it!
Okay. Hope that suffices somewhat.
Thank you for your interest, Vinnie. Did you see my private message reply to your note?
Sincerely, Jeremy.

I wish I had gone to Central Park that day. Oh Well
I hope you are touring the states again soon.

Fleetwood Bac act at Medina
By a County Press reporter - Friday, February 25, 2011

THERE are less than 50 tickets remaining for tonight’s (Friday) Fleetwood Mac tribute at Medina Theatre.
Organisers urged those who have still not bought a ticket to contact the box office or risk disappointment.
Fleetwood Bac have received rave reviews from Mick Fleetwood himself and are fresh from touring the United Arab Emirates.
The two-hour show focuses on the Rumours era and features songs from the Peter Green days, as well as some of Stevie’s biggest solo hits.

It’s said that a guitarist’s tone is his fingerprint — the ultimate signpost of his identity. Moore’s tone was, at its foundation, a derivation of his British blues influences: Peter Green and Bluesbreakers-and-Cream-era Eric Clapton. But the most distinctive part of Moore’s character as a player was in his head and his hands. Moore’s picking speed and attack were ferocious, and his vibrato was equal to that of Green and Clapton — among the world’s finest.

Nonetheless, in purely mechanical terms, it’s possible to get close to Moore’s immense tone. The ideal tools are a Gibson Les Paul Standard and a Marshall amp or its high-gain equivalent. Like Green and Clapton, Moore made his mark initially with a classic Sunburst. In fact, his primary guitar was the classic Sunburst: the so-called Holy Grail Les Paul that belonged to Green during the latter’s heyday with the original Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

Moore first saw Green in the Bluesbreakers when he was 14 and heard his calling in the distinctive throaty voice of Green’s 1959 ’Burst, a guitar with a singular and magical tone. There’s been a lot of speculation over the years on just how Green’s instrument achieved it’s super-warm trebly sound. Green says he reversed a magnet in the neck position humbucker while tinkering with the guitar. Another tale has a repairman accidentally re-winding the pickup in reverse.

Moore acquired the guitar in 1969, after Green became his mentor. That year “Greenie” quit Fleetwood Mac and began his long estrangement from the music business. Moore used the guitar throughout his musical evolution, which veered into hard rock with his first solo disc in 1973, then on to artier but no less heavy turf with bassist/singer Phil Lynott in Thin Lizzy, and to the fusion based Coliseum II. The guitar makes several prominent and extended appearances on Moore’s last DVD and CD releases, 2007’s Live At Montreux DVD — The Definitive Montreux Collection and 2009’s five-CD Essential Montreux.

After 37 years in Moore’s hands the guitar was auctioned in 2006 beginning with an asking price of $2-million and made its post-auction debut on display at the Dallas Guitar Show in 2007.

My Life Is the Road: Owsley “The Bear” Stanley Was a Friend of the Mac
By Dinky Dawson
On Monday, December 8, 1969, Fleetwood Mac began a four-night engagement at Steve Paul's Scene in New York City. After the sound check, Teddy Slatus, the club's manager, came into the green room looking for Peter Green. ...

British blues giant John Mayall has been playing for more than 40 years. And just about anybody that counts in British blues has passed through the hallowed halls of his Bluesbreakers. Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood got their feet wet with Mayall before forming Fleetwood Mac; Mick Taylor went on to join The Rolling Stones; Andy Fraser broke free to form Free; and before Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce went psychedelically heavy with Cream, they too were Bluesbreakers. At age 74, Mayall still tours 120 dates a year, playing the beautiful blues, and breaking in the next big guitar hero.

John Mayall plays Sunday, April 3 at 8 p.m. at German House Theatre, 315 Gregory St. $30-$35. 857-8385

I wish I had gone to Central Park that day. Oh Well
I hope you are touring the states again soon.

fair winds,

vinnie c

Thanks vinnie, you finally cracked Jeremy Spencer's outer shell.

While I doubt Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer were about to hire Ian Gillan to sing the original soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar", I know what Jeremy Spencer is trying to post. Towards the end of Peter Green's run in FM, he became closer with JS because of PG's "Christianity". Peter Green wanted to constantly donate money from side "gigs" for charity. Mick Fleetwood was the one who told Peter Green that, "I'm too selfish to do this". So Peter Green began to lose interest in FM, and when he discovered "Krautrock" in Munich 3/70, he was going to leave the band, in a couple months.

The irony is if Mick Fleetwood let PG do his "thing" for charities, the band wouldn't have suffered as it did for almost five years without Peter Green. They would've been serious rock stars, not a pop band that would make American mini-van mom's proud. On a serious note, I know Peter Green would've left eventually because of mental illness, but it didn't have to happen as soon as May, 1970.